In 2024, OFL was awarded $10,000 to do accessibility updates to the library building and grounds from the ALA Libraries Transforming Communities Accessible Small and Rural Communities Grant.
After many conversations with library patrons and community members at the library and elsewhere, we decided to use the funding to install an outdoor, parking lot adjacent, book return and add a paved walkway to the library ramp. The Fair Haven Select Board donated a stack of sidewalk slates that fit the walkway space perfectly and the look of the building and village. This generous donation left room in the grant funds to work on small but important accessibility updates inside the library.
These updates include coat hooks by the ramp door, a smoother threshold between rooms, widened doorways, fold-up grab bars for our very short toilet, and a raised accessible meeting table to fit a wheelchair.
Incredible what $10,000 can do for a small and rural library like OFL. This accessibility work has been in process since 2022 when we worked with Preservation Trust of Vermont to do an accessibility audit with a Vermont architect. Many parts and pieces lined up to make this project a success.
OFL is grateful to ALA for the fantastic funding opportunity, the owners of the library building (Ethan M & Eliza T Wright Memorial Library Board), the Fair Haven Select Board and the Orwell community.
